Baking Soda to the Rescue … Again

Now, I want to go on record as being a firm believer in evidence-based, traditional medicine. I believe in large-scale, multi-center, randomized clinical trials … staked my life on it once, and I’m still here to tell of it.

I also believe that there are home remedies that work, and I’m also a firm believer in using what works.

Several times over the last few years, I’ve been stung by wasps. Fortunately, I was in my own yard, and immediately made my way to the kitchen.

I mixed a bit of baking soda with water to make a paste, and applied the paste right to the sting spot. I left the paste on the sting area for about 10 minutes. Then I rinsed it off.

The stinging sensation was gone, and there was only a small red spot where the stinger had pierced the skin.

Powerful magic, that baking soda.

Sometimes, not frequently, I use it to brush my teeth. It’s a good abrasive, but my teeth are a bit sensitive, so I don’t push it with overuse.

The other day, I noticed a very irritating sore right on the end of my tongue. I couldn’t even see anything, but doggone I sure could feel it. Eating was downright painful … you just don’t realize how much you use the end of your tongue to move food around. After suffering a few days, and wondering why this thing wasn’t going away, I decided to try some things. Peroxide on a swab … nope, not much help. Listerine on a swab … sorry, try again. I decided to not use toothpaste last night (something I read said that the detergents in toothpaste can irritate any mouth sores) as I brushed my teeth. My mental light bulb went off and I decided to make that magic baking soda paste and pack it over the sore on my tongue while I was brushing. Then I rinsed it all out upon completion.

Lo and behold, when I awoke this morning, the sore was almost completely gone. About 80% gone … just a little tiny bit sore still.

I can’t attest to any other magical cures, like curing cancer (personally, I opted for more conventional treatments there, myself), but if my anecdote is worth at least as much as they next person’s, then next time you get a bee sting (for those who are NOT allergic to bees) or mouth sore, do give the baking soda treatment a try.